


let's kick it

by enbyofdionysus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 02:58:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17035262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyofdionysus/pseuds/enbyofdionysus
Summary: “Calypso’s ex is gonna bass for you guys. He’ll meet you at rehearsal tomorrow.”Jason choked back his anger, closing his eyes. “Can you at least tell me the guy’s name?”“Oh, yeah,” Leo said and then casually, like it was nothing at all, said, “Percy Jackson or something.”





	let's kick it

It wasn’t that Jason was panicking. On the contrary, he was trying his hardest  _not_  to panic. His hands were shaking as he set up his amp and hooked up the electric guitar, anxiety pulling at his balls instead of his usual intense thrill.

Jason loved being on stage, loved performing. And he couldn’t have asked for a better band. Which was why he was so excited that Reyna got them a spot in the Feast of Fortuna, a weekend festival consisting of at least fifty different bands in Upstate New York. 

The festival was predominantly for new-age pagans, specifically Nova Roma, but because Paganism sees every religion as a variation of deity, the festival slowly began to open to more and more bands from garage-style to nearly-famous. Of course, the festival still had a strong focus on bands with an earth-centered religious focus, which was why Jason had always wanted to go. Gloucester’s Eyes was one of his favorite bands.

Unfortunately, at the last minute, their bassist quit on them.

“What do you mean you won’t be able to play?” Jason had croaked into his cell-phone the night before.

“I’m sorry, bro,” Leo said on the other line. Jason had frowned. He didn’t  _sound_ sorry. “It’s just… I got a thing.”

“You have a thing.”

“Yeah, man.”

“What thing? What kind of thing would be more important than performing at Feast of Fortuna? You’ve been gushing about this longer than I have.”

There was silence on the other end. Finally, Leo let out a strangled noise. “Calypso wants me to come over this weekend.”

Jason startled. “I thought you guys broke up?”

“We did.”

“Two years ago.”

“We did.”

“And she wants you to come over?”

“She wants to discuss things,” Leo said.

“What kind of things?”

Leo made another strangled noise. “We’ve been talking a lot about each other recently and she really wants to get back together. But she wants me to change first.”

“And you guys need to talk about this this weekend.”

“Yeah.”

“This weekend specifically.”

“She thinks if we do it during the feast of Tuna then it’ll be good luck for our relationship or something.”

Jason groaned but refrained from correcting him. Leo never got the holiday names right. He once referred to Yuletide as Toolride.

He was about to wish Leo luck and dejectedly call Reyna to tell her to cancel their spot when Leo added, “But don’t worry, bro, I got you guys covered.”

Jason had frowned. “What do you mean you have us covered?”

“Calypso’s ex is gonna bass for you guys.”

“Calypso’s…? Leo, what the fuck.”

“He’s not a bad guy. I mean, I want to hate him, but I met the dude and it’s like trying to hate a pitbull. He’s really good. Not as good as me, but he’ll work. I gave him all of the riffs to look over. He’ll meet you at rehearsal tomorrow.”

Jason choked back his anger, closing his eyes. “Can you at least tell me the guy’s name?”

“Oh, yeah,” Leo said and then casually, like it was nothing at all, said, “Percy Jackson or something.”

*

Percy Jackson was the bassist of the former band Technicolor Hydra.

The band was famous among the Bay Area garage bands for their unique take on Beach Grunge. Unfortunately, just as they had begun to take off and play at larger venues, the band’s drummer, Luke Castellan, left Technicolor Hydra for Kill Time, Not Kronos and eventually the band itself fell apart. Jason had always liked their sound.

Which was why he was so nervous now. He sat on his amp, leg jiggling, as he watched Frank set up his drum kit and Reyna set up the microphones.

“We better sound awesome,” Frank said. He winced as he nearly dropped a cymbal.

“We will,” Jason said, chewing at his thumbnail.

Frank didn’t look convinced, but Jason attributed that to his dislike of Leo.

Finally, the door that led out into the entrance hall (Reyna’s sister had let them practice in the stage area of her bar) opened and just like that Jason’s usual intense thrill returned to his balls.

Because Percy Jackson was a lot more attractive now than he had been three years ago when Jason first saw him at a show. Then, he’d been a lanky teenager with dark tufts of emo hair, dressed in too-big t-shirts and baggy jeans. But he’d been good on the bass. Thalia wouldn’t have brought him to their show if he wasn’t.

Now, Percy was twenty, scruffy-faced, and broad-chested. He headed to the stage with his case strapped to his shoulder and his bass cabinets on a cart. He was dressed in dark skinny jeans and a white, shredded tank top with “NEW YORK” scrawled across it that let Jason see a whole lot of arm and a whole lot of chest if he looked from the right angle. A red flannel shirt was tied around his waist. It kept snagging on the case as he walked, but Percy didn’t seem to notice.

“Hey,” he said, giving a crooked smile as he came to the stage.

Reyna greeted him with a handshake and Frank with a hand-raise.

Jason just grunted, feeling too bisexual to function.

“Thanks for letting me play with you guys,” Percy said. He disregarded the stage steps entirely, hoisting himself up onto the stage. Jason watched his arms flex and immediately imagined Thalia signing “thirsty” in his head.

“Thanks for rescuing us,” Reyna replied into the mic. Her voice echoed around the room.

“Really, it’s more of a favor to me,” Percy said with that crooked smile again. He pulled his case off of his shoulder and headed over to the spot Frank indicated was for him. “I can’t remember the last time I played for an audience.”

“The Bug Jar in 2012,” Jason said before he could stop himself.

Percy stopped and blinked at him, speaker cable dangling from his hand. “Wow,” he said slowly, and then his smile returned to his face. “Fuck, you’re right. Has it really been that long?”

Jason nodded once, running his hands across his jeans. “I always wanted you guys to get back together.”

Percy stopped again. “The band?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jason said, frowning a little. “I always liked your sound. It was interesting. And your lyrics were pretty raw.”

Percy had looked temporarily thrown, but at the mention of the lyrics, his face lit up. “Thanks. I wrote those.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Well, half of them. Annabeth was usually better with words than I was.”

“Alright, boys, flirt later,” Reyna said, waving a hand at them. “We’ve got a rehearsal to do.”

*

Frank had nothing to worry about.

They sounded incredible.

They went through their entire set list and Percy didn’t miss a single strum, Frank’s beats felt like he was fucking Jason’s ass, and Reyna’s voice was on key the whole time. Really, Jason thought as he hit the final chord and Frank’s sticks slammed into the cymbals, they had never sounded so good.

Reyna seemed to agree if her grin said anything, punching him good-naturedly in the arm after putting the mics back. “We might just have this in the bag,” she said before she left. “Tell Leo he might just be off the hook for being an asshole.”

“I will,” Jason laughed.

“Emphasis on  _might_ ,” she added.

“You guys are good,” Percy said. He was taking apart his bass cabinet, partially bent over with his shirt sliding up. Gravity was a beautiful thing.

“You too, man,” Jason said, stepping closer to him, guitar still strapped to his back. “Don’t tell Leo this, but I think that’s the best we’ve ever sounded. Your bass skills are ridic.”

Percy laughed, glancing up at him. His green eyes made Jason shiver. “Thanks, dude.”

Jason watched him for a few seconds and then cleared his throat. “Do you want help at all?”

“Uh, sure. I’m almost done, actually, if you want to take my load.”

Jason choked on his own spit. “Your what?”

“My load?” Percy said again, looking at him over his shoulder. “The cabinets?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah. Jesus. Sure.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, never better.”

Percy let out a bemused laugh, taking up one of the cabinets. Jason picked up the other one, coming down the stage to place it on the cart. “My car’s parked just out front. It’s the Mystery Machine.”

“Got it,” Jason said, following him down the stage steps and out through the front entrance. Percy hadn’t been joking when he said “Mystery Machine.” A neon-green van sat in one of the first parking spaces that wasn’t handicapped, rusted and old-looking.

Percy went to the back and grunted, hefting the cabinet onto the side of the bumper to yank open the back door of the van. He let Jason put his cabinet in first. The back of the van was filled with so many miscellaneous things Jason wasn’t quite sure where to look. There were surfboards and instrument cases laying across the floor. Jason recognized a broken bong.

“Thanks,” Percy said, setting his cabinet beside Jason’s. “I just have to grab my amp head and bass and I’ll be out.”

Jason nodded, following him back inside. “Thank you,” he said, “for coming on such short notice. We really needed you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy said. He gave Jason a smile. “Really, I forgot how good it feels to be up there.”

“I don’t think I could ever forget,” Jason said honestly. He held his hands out for the head amp once they got back to the stage. Percy handed it to him. “Performing is one of the things that keeps me going, you know?”

Something passed over Percy’s face as he packed his bass into its case. “Yeah. I know.”

Jason watched him gather up the rest of his equipment and come down the stage steps. “You’ve changed a lot,” he said.

Percy looked up from the concrete floor. “What?”

“I said you’ve changed a lot. From when I last saw you play.”

Percy’s laugh was louder than Jason expected. “I would hope so. I was a huge dork back then. I mean, I’m still a huge dork, but at least I know now not to go after drummers.”

Jason frowned, following him back out to the van. “Not to go after drummers?”

“You didn’t know?” Percy asked, looking over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow at him. “And here I thought you were my biggest fan.” Jason flushed. “Nah, Luke and I had a thing. It started before the band and ended with him fucking the lead singer of that alternative garbage group.”

Jason winced. “I’m sorry.”

Percy shrugged. “People who wear their hearts on their sleeve learn quick.”

Something sunk low in Jason’s gut, but he said nothing. The amp head suddenly felt heavier in his hands.

Percy seemed to read his expression, letting out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer. I know relationships work out and stuff when they’re done right. I’m just bitter.”

“It wasn’t your fault you got hurt, you know,” Jason said quietly. He squinted in the evening sun when Percy shoved the door open with his hip. “Being open-hearted is never a bad thing. It’s the people who take advantage of it.”

Percy hummed, shoving open the van door. “I guess so.”

Jason settled the amp head gently beside a surf board, startling when Percy shoved his bass in next to it.

“Thanks,” Percy said.

“No problem.” He wiped his hands across the front of his jeans as Percy shut the van doors. “Um. Can I ask you something? And I hope this isn’t too foreword.”

“More foreword than you checking me out on stage like a cat in heat?” Jason’s face went red so quickly he felt dizzy, but Percy was grinning like a gameshow winner. “Yes, I’d love to go to dinner with you.”


End file.
